Monday, April 29, 2013

“Black
Butterfly” and “The Burning of Pennsylvania Hall″. Lenticular prints by Nadine
Patterson. Fabricated by Silicon Gallery’s Rick De Coyte. Part of the Freedom, Fire & Promiscuous Meetings
exhibition at the Painted Bride Art Center until May 18, 2013.

Library Company staff members Krystal Appiah and Nicole
Joniec had a chance to attend two recent events related to Pennsylvania Hall
and 19th-century abolitionist efforts in Philadelphia.Pennsylvania Hall was erected in May 1838 on
the 100 block of North 6th Street (site of WHYY building today) to serve as a
meeting hall and marketplace for abolitionist supporters, whose radical views
often made it difficult to rent venues.Only
a few days after the dedication ceremonies, a mob, angered by the mixing of
races and sexes, looted and set fire to the building. While police and
firefighters stood by without intervening, the building burned to a skeleton.The gutted shell stood for several years
after the blaze, becoming a pilgrimage site for abolitionists, who refused to
let this act of violence deter them from their cause.

On April 23rd, Beverly
Tomek, a former Library Company fellow, took part in a panel discussion on her
upcoming publication on the Pennsylvania Hall entitled Pennsylvania Hall: A ‘Legal Lynching’ in the Shadow of the Liberty Bell,
to be released by Oxford University Press in December 2013.Along with Tomek, the panel consisted of Richard
Newman, a history professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Director
of the Library Company’s NEH summer seminar on abolitionism for K-12 teachers,
and Michael Coard, a Philadelphia attorney, blogger for The Philly Post, and community activist.This stimulating discussion explored the
history of this event as well as ties to current events.Tomek hopes to develop a digital component of
the research she’s done and the Library Company looks forward to assisting her
with this endeavor.More information
about Tomek’s upcoming publication can be found on her blog, Universal Emancipation.

Ain
Gordon and Nadine Patterson have been researching the Library Company’s
collections culminating in a play entitled If
She Stood, written and directed by Gordon with an accompanying exhibit Freedom, Fire and Promiscuous Meetings, curated
by Patterson.In the exhibit, Patterson
uses the lenticular printing process to create movement in several
reproductions from the Library Company’s collections, including a striking
image of Pennsylvania Hall before and during the conflagration.The lenticular printing process creates
images that vary depending on where you stand, actively engaging the viewer and
bringing the burning of the building to life.Gordon’s play focuses on the lives and activism of 19th-century female
reformers who formed the interracial Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.For those interested, more information about
the play and exhibition can be found here: http://www.paintedbride.org/performance-in-the-present-tense/if-she-stood/

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

As part of all things ephemera at the Library Company, I was
asked to curate a mini-exhibition in collaboration with the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society. Nine artists will be making work inspired by the Ephemera Collection to be put on display this coming September. To get the creative
juices flowing, I invited the artists to draw with the collection, for nothing
is better than holding the real thing in your hands! We sketched for two hours,
and that was not enough time because it was hard to settle on one or two pieces
to work from.

One thing that sets PCS apart is its love for collaboration.
We love to work together and draw together. We influence and support each other
creatively. Having the opportunity to draw together at LCP was a great
experience, and I expect there will be many return visits.

What you see are some photos of the artists doing what they do best as well as sketches from participating artists - Christian Patchell, Melissa Lomax, and Kyle Margiotta. We will be posting our progress as the exhibit approaches so be sure to
check back!

The main ephemera exhibit is about to be installed, and I highly recommend stopping by and taking a look once it's up : Remnants of Everyday Life opening May 13th!!

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The Library Company of Philadelphia

The Library Company of Philadelphia is an independent research library specializing in American history and culture from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Open to the public free of charge, the Library Company houses an extensive collection of rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art. Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, the Library Company is America's oldest cultural institution and served as the Library of Congress from the Revolutionary War to 1800. The Library Company was the largest public library in America until the Civil War.

The mission of the Library Company is to preserve, interpret, make available, and augment the valuable materials in our care. We serve a diverse constituency throughout Philadelphia and internationally, offering comprehensive reader services, an internationally renowned fellowship program, online catalogs, and regular exhibitions and public programs.